Clipperton Island
Flag Coat of Arms Map National Anthem
General Information
Introduction Clipperton Island
Background:
 This isolated island was named for John CLIPPERTON, a pirate who made it his hideout early in the 18th century. Annexed by France in 1855, it was seized by Mexico in 1897. Arbitration eventually awarded the island to France, which took possession in 1935.
Geography Clipperton Island
Location:
 Middle America, atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, 1,120 km southwest of Mexico
Geographic coordinates:
 10 17 N, 109 13 W
Map references:
 Political Map of the World
Area:
 total: 6 sq km
land: 6 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative:
 about 12 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
 0 km
Coastline:
 11.1 km
Maritime claims:
 territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate:
 tropical; humid, average temperature 20-32 degrees C, wet season (May to October)
Terrain:
 coral atoll
Elevation extremes:
 lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Rocher Clipperton 29 m
Natural resources:
 fish
Land use:
 arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 100% (all coral) (2005)
Irrigated land:
 0 sq km
Natural hazards:
 NA
Environment - current issues:
 NA
Geography - note:
 reef 12 km in circumference
People Clipperton Island
Population:
 uninhabited
Government Clipperton Island
Country name:
 conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Clipperton Island
local long form: none
local short form: Ile Clipperton
former: sometimes called Ile de la Passion
Dependency status:
 possession of France; administered directly by the Minister of Overseas France
Legal system:
 the laws of France, where applicable, apply
Flag description:
 the flag of France is used
Economy Clipperton Island
Economy - overview:
 Although 115 species of fish have been identified in the territorial waters of Clipperton Island, the only economic activity is tuna fishing.

Transportation Clipperton Island
Ports and terminals:
 none; offshore anchorage only
Military Clipperton Island
Military - note:
 defense is the responsibility of France
Transnational Issues Clipperton Island
Disputes - international:
 none
History
History of Clipperton Island

Clipperton was originally discovered by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521, but was later named after John Clipperton, an English pirate and privateer who fought the Spanish during the early eighteenth century and who used the island as a hidden base for his raids on shipping.

In 1708, two French ships, 'La Princesse' and 'La Découverte', reached the island, named it 'Île de la Passion', and annexed it for the crown to France. The first scientific expedition took place in 1725 by the Frenchman M. Bocage, who lived on the island for several months.

In April 1831, John Fitzgerald on his way to San Blas from Callao discovered an island at 18°30′N 114°33′W not shown on any chart.

The American Guano Mining Company, under the Guano Islands Act of 1856, claimed the island for the United States of America, with earlier claim disputes to island guano by the Oceanic Phosphate Company with Mexico in 1848-49. On 17 November 1858, under Emperor Napoleon III Bonaparte, the French annexed Clipperton as part of their South Sea colony Tahiti. Mexico reasserted its claim over the island in 1897 and established a military outpost on the island. The US again held it briefly during the Spanish American War of 1898.

In 1906, the British Pacific Island Company acquired the rights to Clipperton's guano deposits and, in conjunction with the Mexican government, built a mining settlement. That same year, a lighthouse was erected under the orders of President Porfirio Díaz, and a military garrison under Captain Ramón Arnaud of the Mexican army was sent to the island. By 1914, about 100 people – men, women, and children – were living on the island. Every two months, a ship from Acapulco sailed to the island with provisions. However, with the escalation of fighting in the Mexican Revolution, the atoll was no longer reachable by ship, and the island's inhabitants were left to their own devices.

By 1915, most of the inhabitants had died, and the last settlers wanted to leave on the US Navy warship 'Lexington' which had reached the atoll in late 1915. However, the Mexican military governor declared that evacuation was not necessary.

By 1917, most of the men had died, some in a failed attempt to sail to the mainland and fetch help. The lighthouse keeper, Victoriano Álvarez, found himself the last man on the island, along with 15 women and children. Álvarez promptly proclaimed himself King and began a rampage of rape and murder, before being killed by one of the recipients of his attentions. On 18 July 1917, almost immediately following Álvarez's death, four women and six children, the last survivors, were picked up by the US Navy gunship USS Yorktown.

Ownership of Clipperton was then disputed between France and Mexico. France approached the Vatican for a decision on ownership and, in 1930, the Vatican assigned the task to the King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel, who declared one year later that Clipperton was a French possession. The French rebuilt the lighthouse and settled a military outpost on the island, which remained for seven years before being abandoned. In 1935 France takes possession; it has since been administered by the French colonial High Commissioner for French Polynesia.

In the late 1930s, Clipperton was visited twice by President Franklin D. Roosevelt who wanted it to become a US possession for use as an airbase for Pacific Ocean operations. In 1944, he ordered the navy to occupy the island in one of the most secret US operations of World War II. Rear Admiral Byrd undertook several expeditions to the island to assess its potential as an airbase.

In 1962, the independence of Algeria threatened further French nuclear testing at Algerian sites. The French Ministry of Defence considered Clipperton as a possible replacement test site; however, due to the island's hostile climate and remote location, this was eventually ruled out.

During the 1970s the French explored reopening the lagoon and developing a harbour for trade and tourism. An automatic weather installation was completed on April 7, 1980. The data collected by this station are transmitted directly by satellite to Brittany.

In 1981, the Academy of Sciences for Overseas Territories recommended that the island should have its own economic infrastructure, with an airstrip and a fishing port in the lagoon. This meant opening up the lagoon by creating a passage in the atoll rim. For this purpose, an agreement whereby the island became State property was signed with the French State, represented by the High Commissioner for French Polynesia. On October 13, 1986, a meeting took place regarding the establishment of a permanent base for fishing on or near Clipperton, between the High-Commissioner for the Republic in French Polynesia, representing the State, and the Survey firm for the development and exploitation of the small island Clipperton (SEDEIC). Taking into account the economic constraints, the distance and the small size of the atoll, no plan, apart from studies, was undertaken to carry out this project. In conclusion, plans for development of Clipperton were abandoned.

The island has been abandoned since WW II; since then it has only been visited by sport fishermen, regularly scheduled patrols by the French Navy, and Mexican tuna and shark fishermen. There have been infrequent scientific and amateur radio expeditions, and, on one occasion, Jacques-Yves Cousteau visited with his team of divers and a survivor from the 1917 evacuation. In 2003 Lance Milbrand stayed on the island for 41 days on a National Geographic Society expedition, recording his adventure in video, photos, and a written diary.

In 2005, Clipperton's ecosystem was extensively studied for four months by a scientific mission organised by Jean-Louis Étienne, which was to make a complete inventory of mineral, plant and animal species found on the atoll, study algae as deep as 100 m beneath sea level, study pollution, etc.

Clipperton is often used by the French as a self-deprecating ironic reference to the importance of the French oversea possessions.
Culture

 Not applicable.

Last update on 5 March 2008
Copyright 2005 - 2008 My World Guide
Design and CMS by: Adpixel.biz